On Thu, 08 Jun 2000 16:29:35 +0500 jchludzinski at worldkey.net wrote:
>I've noticed the addition of packages in 2.8. (Actually, I noticed the "package browser" addition to the "open" menu in 2.8.)
>
>What exactly are they?
>
>Are they just categories of categories?
>
>What is their intended use?
>
>How can I create one?
>
>How can I add categories/classes to one?

John,

The term "package" is actually used in two different ways in squeak:

1. The yellow window entitled "Squeak Package Browser" (found in the world/open/package browser menu) is mostly a conventional system browser. The difference is that it splits the system category pane (the upper left one) into two parts: the first pane holds the system category names up to the first hyphen (and, thus, a shorter list). The second pane shows those categories that start with the selected item in the first pane. This simplifies the process of looking at specific categories of classes. Whenever you compile a class, the 'category:' part (e.g. category: 'Collections-Unordered') puts that class in a category. A class defind in this way would show up in the package browser when you select 'Collections' from the first list and then 'Unordered' from the second.

2. The brown browser entitled "Package Browser" (found in the file list menu under "browse code") is a bit different. It compares the definitions found in a file of Smalltalk code (.cs or .st, e.g.) with what is already in the image. It is a handy to see what you are about to file in without actually doing it. It works pretty much like a conventional browser, except that it shows you the differences between the file on disk and the corresponding code in the image.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Bob